RUSTIC ITALIAN CHICKEN

2-4 chix breasts or 2.5 lbs chicken thighs
salt & pepper
4t garlic
8oz sliced mushrooms
1 red pepper, sliced
1 onion, sliced thin
2/3 c marsala wine or chicken broth
14.5oz can of diced tomatoes
2t basil or 2T pesto
2T capers
2t parsley

Place chicken in a crock pot. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic.  Arrange red pepper, mushrooms, and onion.  Pour wine over top.  Add tomatoes, pesto, capers, and parsley.  Cover and cook on low 5-6 hours, stirring occasionally.  

WHITE BEAN SOUP (Southern Living)

This is a great winter recipe.  It is so easy.  The ingredients are cheap and usually on hand.  And it's a great way to eat more beans or have a meatless dinner.


3 cans Great Northern Beans, rinsed and drained
2T butter
1 onion, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
5t garlic
6c chicken broth
2 bay leaves
thyme
1/4 c rice wine vinegar (may sub red wine/ or white vinegar)
salt and black pepper
white truffle oil or olive oil

Melt butter in pot.  Saute onion, celery, and garlic for 10 min.  Add beans, broth, spices, and boil.  Simmer 30-60 min.  Remove from heat, stir in vinegar and salt.  Blend with hand blender to desired consistency.  Drizzle with truffle oil or EVOO before serving.

HONEY POACHED PEARS (Aida Mollenkamp)

4 ripe but firm Bartlett pears (about 2 1/2 pounds), halved, cored
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup brandy  
cinnamon
4 whole cloves
Whipped cream or ice cream, for serving

Heat oven to 400*F. Place pears cut side down in a 3-quart baking dish. Combine honey, butter, and brandy.  Drizzle over pears and sprinkle with cinnamon and cloves. Roast pears, basting occasionally, until they are knife tender, about 35 to 40 minutes. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

LAZY PORK HOT POT (Aida Mollenkamp)

1 1/2 quart (6 cups) low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup sherry
6 tablespoons soy sauce
5tsp garlic  
4t ginger
4 oz shiitake (or other) mushrooms, sliced
Carrots, shredded 
Snap (or snow) peas
Cellophane noodles (or ramen, spaghetti, etc)
3/4 pound pork tenderloin, cubed
3 green onions, thinly sliced on bias, for serving

Combine broth, sherry, soy, garlic, ginger, mushrooms, carrots, and peas in a medium pot. Bring to a boil over high heat then reduce heat to low.  Add noodles and simmer until broth is infused with flavors, about 30 minutes. Turn heat up to medium and add pork and cook until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Garnish with green onions and serve.

BIRTHDAY CAKE ICE CREAM

It's such a fun treat to take the family out for ice cream, but the prices can be outrageous.  And they're not much better at the grocery store, so we've been making our own more often.  This is the recipe we use for our ice cream machine.  (We just suped up their vanilla recipe.)

2 c. heavy cream or whole milk
1 c. lowfat milk
2 t vanilla
3/4 c. sugar
rainbow sprinkles
1/3 c. dry cake mix

Stir together the milks, vanilla, and sugar.  Pour into ice cream maker and run (ours is 25 min).  Stir in sprinkles and cake mix.  Put in tupperware in freezer until firm.  Enjoy!

CHICKEN MACARONI BAKE (Once a Month Mom)

This is yummy comfort food, a crowd (and kid) pleaser, and a great one dish meal.  It also freezes very well.  Just make and assemble casserole and freeze.  To eat, just thaw and bake 30 min or bake from frozen for 1 hour.

1 small onion, chopped
2 T butter
1/4 c. milk
10.5 oz cream of chicken soup
1 1/2  c. chicken (or Turkey), cooked & cubed
4 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
8 oz pasta, any variety, cooked (I use Barilla whole grain rotini)
1/8 c. bread crumbs or crackers

Preheat oven to 350*  Prepare pasta according to package directions. Brown onion in butter. Stir in soup, chicken, milk, and 3/4 c. cheese; heat until cheese melts. Add cooked noodles to sauce and stir.  Pour into greased baking dish. Mix the remaining cheese and bread crumbs and place on top. Bake 30 minutes or until hot.

ITALIAN CHICKEN RING (Pampered Chef)

2 c. cooked chicken, diced
1/2 c. roasted red peppers, diced
3T fresh parsley
1T lemon juice
3t garlic, minced
1 c. mozzarella, shredded
1/2 c. mayo
1t Italian seasoning
1/2 c. parmesan cheese
2 pkgs crescent rolls

Preheat oven to 375*  Arrange crescent rolls in a sunburst pattern- overlapping triangles with the points outward.  (can also be done in a rectangle if you don't have a round baking stone)

Stir together all ingredients until well mixed and spoon onto the center of the crescent roll ring.  Pull the points over the chicken mixture and press to seal in the center. 

Bake for 28-30 min.